I’m working with an Iraqi attorney on a project. In email I gingerly made the offhand comment, “hope all is going well for you.” He replied wryly, “Well, it’s ok – I could use some help out here. Know any attorneys willing to come to Iraq?” In reply, I told him that I was opposed to the invasion and hope for the best in Iraq. His reply was articulate, informed, and interesting:

Well, I guess I agree with you about the invasion. I’m not sure how I feel about disengagement. I just hope this administration gets voted out, along with Tony Blair. I’m not sure how much Kerry has to offer, and one thing for sure is that he will not be able to make any changes to troop commitments and Iraq, etc. (this will become clear after his first CIA briefing if he wins), but the Bush-Blair camp has to go. I have serious issues with Bush and Cheney and how this adventure was just a big corporate profit take for them and their friends. Halliburton and KBR have done terrible work in Iraq. Iraq will be fine, eventually. It will return to an equilibrium that will be a watered down version of what it was before. It will still be a somewhat dictatorial state and will be dominated by security, rather than law, but material wealth may promote good things in the long run, and the future should be bright. It will be tough for the next 2-5 years though. It could take a good 10 years before it really emerges in a form that would be stable and sustainable. One thing for sure – Iraq has shown some of the worst that lurks in American society. The only consolation is that the US civil and political process has responded admirably and the truth and the dirt is coming out a lot quicker than I ever expected it would. I think it will provoke major changes in the US and a reversal of a lot of what Bush’s administration put in place post 9-11. In the meantime, Americans will have to work a lot harder at improving their image abroad, and US citizens are placed in the curious position of having to re-humanize themselves to the world community, and specifically to the Arabs.

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